38 



I.;-, 



FOURTEENTH ANNUAL. REPORT OF THE 



The total yield in the above is 6.4 

 tons of dry matter per acre, of which 

 the roots from 1.2 tons per acre, or 

 less than one-fifth of the total. It is im- 

 portant to note that the tops are nearly 

 as rich in nitrogen as red clover (40 

 pounds per ton) while the roots con- 

 tain only about 26 pounds of introgen 

 per ton, or tops and roots contain re- 

 spectively 86 and 14 per cent of the • 

 total nitrogen of the entire plant. The 

 above indicates that sweet clover may 

 be made a very valuable crop for soil 

 improvement if properly managed. A 

 large part of the crop should be turned 

 back into the soil. If the entire crop 

 is removed not only will no nitrogen be 

 added to the soil, but since the plant 

 takes approximately one-third or 33 

 per cent of its nitrogen from the ordi- 

 nary brown silt loan soil, as de- 

 termined by another experiment, the 

 nitrogen content of this soil would ac- 

 tually be reduced. 



At the Wyoming Experiment Sta- 

 tion in 1905 two plots produced from 

 two cuttings about 4.5 tons of hay per 

 acre; from two other plots 3.75 tons 

 were secured. 



During the present year with a de- 

 ficiency of 8.3 inches of rainfall from 

 March 1 to September 1, the sweet 

 clover produced on my own farm an 

 average yield of organic matter of 3.6 

 tons per acre. 



The above yields will give some idea 

 of the value of this plant for adding 

 organic matter and nitrogen to the 

 soil. This will undoubtedly be its pri- 

 mary function in our systems of agri- 

 culture. If a secondary use can be 

 made of it for hay and pasture so 

 much the better. If, however, every- 

 thing is removed, sweet clover in the 

 hands of a selfish farmer may become 

 one of the worst soil robbers. 



Very few definite experiments have 

 been published that give the actual 

 value of sweet clover in increased 

 yields of succeeding crops. The fol- 

 lowing yields were obtained near Tost, 

 Germany, as given in Ohio Experiment 

 Station Bulletin 244. , Sweet clover 

 was seeded in May and turned under 

 the next jear as a green manure. 



Oats Potatoes 



per acre per acre 



Soil Treatment. bushels bushels 



No green manure 34.3 123.6 



Green manure 51.4 258.9 



The question is often asked regard- 

 ing the difficulty of plowing sweet 



clover ground as compared to alfalfa 

 sod. The plowing is very difficult the 

 first season but if left until the crop is 

 mature the roots soon begin to decay 

 and may then be cut readily witli the 

 plowshare. The decay of these roots 

 leaves the soil in fine physical condi- 

 tion. 



Drouth Resistance. 



Sweet clover is a better drouth re- 

 sistant than any other' clover. On three 

 fields that had both red and sweet 

 clover seeded side by side, the latter 

 has maintained itself during the dry 

 season of 1913 and made a good stamd, 

 while the red clover was a total fail- 

 ure. The same was true in 1914. It 

 is a matter of common observation 

 that sweet clover along the roadside 

 will be green when blue grass in the 

 pasture is dry. Probably no crop but 

 alfalfa is a better drouth resistant than 

 sweet clover. 



One of . the objections frequently 

 frequently spoken of by farmers is the 

 liability of sweet clover becoming a 

 serious weed pest if introduced into 

 our cultivated fields. I have no doubt ■ 

 that this danger has been ma'gnified to 

 a considerable degree. I have written 

 to dozens of men who have grown 

 sweet clover more or less, asking them 

 about this very point and the an- 

 swers have been unanimously in favor 

 of sweet clover. It may do a small 

 amount of damage to oats or wheat, 

 but this injury wall be much more than 

 counJ:erbalanced by the good that it 

 does to the soil. Sweet clover must be 

 used primarily as a soil improver, and 

 when farmers are growing this, ,as 

 they will in the near future, the lirice 

 of clover seed will be reduce^ to .the 

 point where land owners will not hipsi- 

 tate to furnish the seed. ' ^ 



A member — You ^poke about; the 

 time of seeding — that it varied with the 

 nurse crop and that the early spring is 

 the best time. Would it not be better 

 to sow it earlier, in the winter? 



Mr. Mosier — Yes, January, February 

 or early March. If it is left in the soil 

 you will get better germination than if 

 you wait to seed it late. 



We are surprised frequently that 

 sweet clover will grow in the roadside 

 but not in the field; there is reason 

 for it. Vehicles have gone by there 

 and have carried the seed and infected 

 the soil all along the road — but over in 

 the field there has been nothing to 

 carry it there, unless water; in bottom 



